This specification relates to searches of network-accessible resources that include references to named people.
Search engines allow users to search Internet resources. Search engines can help users gather information about people, both real and fictional. For instance, users can enter a person name, i.e., a name of a person, or portions of a name, as part of a search query. Existing search engines can return search results, including listings of resources, satisfying the search. Depending on the search algorithms employed by the search engine, resources identified in the set of search results can each include mention of the person name somewhere in the resource. Search engines generally include a link to each resource included in the search results to read allow the user to access the resource to determine whether and how the resource pertains to the person.
Some search engines allow users to sort search results in interesting ways. For example, some search engines return listings of images, videos, and maps identified as being responsive to a particular search query. Some search engines are dedicated to searching for resources of a particular type or searching narrowly-focused databases or resource sets. For example, some search engines include online person directories, such as whitepages.com or people.yahoo.com, that allow users to search an established directory of names, addresses, and phone numbers. For instance, a user can enter a person name to retrieve the address and phone number of the person from the directory. Address directories can also be searched in reverse, with the user entering an address or phone number stored in the directory to retrieve the name of a person recorded as having that address or phone number. The accuracy and scope of such people searches are limited, however, by how often the directory is updated as well as by the breadth of the address or phone directory used by the search engine.